THE WRITINGS OF GENERAL LU: RELIGION AND RULE IN KHALKHA MONGOLIA AT THE TURN OF THE 20TH CENTURY Alice W. Seddon Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in the Department of Central Eurasian Studies, Indiana University November 2009 Accepted by the Graduate Faculty, Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. Master’s Thesis Committee Christopher P. Atwood, Ph.D. György Kara, Ph.D. Elliot Sperling, Ph.D. ii © 2009 Alice W. Seddon ALL RIGHTS RESERVED iii Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..1 Part 1: Journal…………………………………………………………………………...14 BT 26, autumn…………………………………………………………………...15 BT 27…………………………………………………………………………….18 BT 27, summer…………………………………………………………………..18 BT 28, spring…………………………………………………………………….19 BT 29, autumn…………………………………………………………………...20 BT 29, winter…………………………………………………………………….21 BT 30, summer…………………………………………………………………..22 BT 30, autumn…………………………………………………………………...24 BT 31…………………………………………………………………………….24 BT 31, spring…………………………………………………………………….24 BT 31, spring…………………………………………………………………….26 Part 2: Praise for Khankhökhii……………………………………………...…………...32 Part 3……………………………………………………………………….…………….46 Poems…………………………………………………………………………….47 North of the High Holy One (version A)…………………………………..47 North of the High Holy One (version B)…………………………………..49 The Hunt…………………………………………………………………...50 The Way of This World…………………………………………………....51 Why Carry a Tune…………………………………………………………51 Hunting Elk………………………………………………………………..52 The Magic of Women……………………….……………………………..52 A Cause for Meditation……………………………………………………52 The Three Precious Things………………………………………………...53 One in Justice……………………………………………………………....53 A World Without Permanence……………………………………………..54 The Joy of Moving Camp………………………………………………….54 Awakening Understanding…………………………………………………55 The Five Jewels……………………………………………………………55 Wool………………………………………………………………………..56 Writing……………………………………………………………………..56 Sitting on Khökhii’s Summit………………………………………………57 Difference of Birth…………………………………………………………57 Love and Learning…………………………………………………………57 Songs…………………………………………………………………………….58 Meritorious Meeting………………………………………………………58 Hey, The Rich Khökhii (version A)………………………………………58 Hey, The Rich Khökhii (version B)………………………………………59 The Elk of High Khökhii………………………………………………….60 Pangare-Brown Pacer (version A)………………………………………...60 Pangare-Brown Pacer (version B)………………………………………...62 The Sharp-Shooting Bow……………………………………………...….63 Lofty and Lovely (version A)……………………………………………..64 iv Lofty and Lovely (version B)………………………………………………65 The Elk of Our Khökhii…………………………………………………….65 The Crest of Khökhii Mountain…………………………………………....66 Dubia……………………………………………………………………………..67 The Guru and the Three Jewels (version A)………………………………..67 The Guru and the Three Jewels (version B)………………………………..68 Wide Cloud…...…………………………………………………………...69 Meadow Flowers…………………………………………………………...70 Accolades for Racehorses, Benediction for a Ger………………………………..70 Sources…………………………………………………………………………....74 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………77 v Introduction Sedbazarîn Luwsandondow has been recognized as “one of the enrichers of the treasury of late 19th century Mongolian literature“1 since at least the late 1960’s, included in surveys of Mongolian literature by Ts. Damdinsüren, Heissig, and D. Tserensodnom. However the Mongolian literary historian M. Gürsed wrote in 1989 that up to then the writer’s specific contributions had remained obscure,2 and his works were mainly unpublished, collected by researchers who traveled to Uws aimag in the 1960’s and 70’s, copying manuscripts and putting into writing songs and poems they heard performed. To remedy this situation Gürsed compiled the extant works, compared different versions and transcribed manuscripts from their original Uighur-Mongolian script into the modern Cyrillic script. The resulting oeuvre was published in 1989, with a preface by J. Tsoloo, an introduction by Gürsed and 22 tales and reminiscences about the poet, under the title Shülegch S. Luwsandondowin büteel, or The Works of the Poet S. Luwsandondow. My translations in Parts 1 and 3 are of the works in this book, while I have translated Part 2 from a photocopy of the manuscript written in the Uighur-Mongolian script which Gürsed transcribed into Cyrillic Mongolian in the book. Because the translations are mostly from the Cyrillic script, this introduction uses forms of words and names transcribed from that script – thus I write “Luwsandondow” rather than “Lubsangdondub.” The very first publication of a work of Luwsandondow’s was in 1880, when the Russian A. M. Pozdneyev included two versions of the poem “Öndör bogdîn ard” or “North of the High Holy One” in a book on Mongol folk songs. One version collected in 1 M. Gürsed, Introduction to Shülegch S. Luwsandondowîn büteel, 5. 2 Ibid., 6. Uliastai names its singer as “26-year-old Lubsang Dongdog.” While Pozdneyev, who collected the songs in 1878-79, does not identify him as the author, that was Luwsandondow’s age in 1879.3 Incidentally, Gürsed suggests that in this case Pozdneyev identified a lyrical recitation of a poem as a song.4 After this book, the next publication did not occur until 1960, when the prominent Mongolian author, archaeologist and historian Kh. Perlee published a Cyrillic version of the long poem “Khankhökhiin magtaal” or “Praise for Khankhökhii Mountain” in the literary journal Tsog. In 1968, M. Gürsed published a study of Luwsandondow in Mongolîn uran zokhiolîn toim, or Survey of Mongolian Literature, edited by Ts. Damdinsüren. From that point, the poet’s place in his country’s literature began to be recognized. Over a hundred years before Perlee’s pathbreaking article, in 1854, Luwsandondow was born in Khankhökhii Banner in northwestern Khalkha Mongolia, a territory covering today’s Öndörkhangai and Tsagaankhairkhan sums in Uws aimag. Born to a servant in the household, he was adopted by Sedbazar, the banner’s heirless ruler, and given a noble’s education, tutored at home from a young age. He learned not only the Mongol script but also Manchu, Tibetan and Chinese, and was educated in Buddhism and politics. He ruled the banner from 1876 until his death in 1909. When Luwsandondow succeeded his father as banner ruler, he received the rank of gün, or duke. In 1897 he was appointed Zasagt khan aimgiin tuslakh janjin, or Assistant General of Zasagt Khan Aimag. After that he became widely known as General Lu; he was also called Burkhan janjin, or General Buddha, evidently out of respect for his intellectual and moral qualities. Many of the “legendary tales” that were 3 It should be remembered that Mongolians calculate their age as one year at birth. 4 Shülegch S. Luwsandondowîn büteel, 17. 2 collected in what was his banner depict him finding clever solutions to problems of all sorts. For instance, one story tells how he lightened the work of criminal prisoners forced to carry stones for construction of a monastery by forming them into a line to pass along the rocks.5 His problem-solving policies were applied most prominently in three cases: in 1881 when lamas caused fighting that destroyed the goods of Chinese shopkeepers near Gandan, he convinced the shopkeepers to drop their demands for reparation by reminding them of the greater cost of moving their shops away from the monastery, as they had been ordered to do6: a few years later he helped prevent the opening of a Russian-owned gold mine in Khalkha which was widely opposed by Mongolians but supported by Uliastai’s Manchu amban, arguing that his country relied on animal husbandry and the preservation of pastureland, which would be disrupted by mining7: and in 1900, when 2000 unpaid soldiers in Uliastai revolted and fled, and other officials were deciding how to recall and punish them, Luwsandondow, hoping to rescue the soldiers from punishment, suggested that each soldier would need to be escorted back to Uliastai by two armed men; this prompted the amban to drop the matter, considering the presence of 6000 soldiers in the city too dangerous.8 These examples portray him as a compassionate man who used his cleverness to defend those who needed it and to protect the land and its traditional way of life. They also hint at his attitudes toward Chinese trade practices in Khalkha and toward Manchu rule, often pitching his intelligence against the power of Qing authorities. In time General Lu may have become a sort of mythical folk hero, whose role in some of these tales should not be taken too literally. 5 Shülegch S. Luwsandondowîn büteel, 120-121. 6 Ibid., 108-109. 7 Ibid., 113-114. 8 Ibid., 109-110. 3 The only published tale that overlaps with events in his journal is that of the Uliastai soldiers’ uprising (Part 1, pp. 16-17), but no mention is made by General Lu of his purported role. Of course there are many possible reasons for this omission, but even if the tales may exaggerate his actions, the attitudes they ascribe to him are certainly present in his writings. Luwsandondow’s extant body of writings consists of about 20 short poems, the poem “Praise For Khankhökhii Mountain” of around 400 lines, about 10 songs, a journal fragment covering the years 1900 – 1905, accolades for racehorses and a benediction for a new tent. While I will concentrate in the following discussion on the short poems, journal and songs, my conclusions are consistent with the remainder of his known work. In addition, the journal mentions a book called Buyanî shar dewter, or Yellow

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